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A secondman or driver's assistant [1] [2] is a railway employee who assists the driver of a train.
| This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
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A secondman or driver's assistant [1] [2] is a railway employee who assists the driver of a train.
Historically, due to the pervasive use of steam traction, locomotives were always crewed by at least two people: a driver and a fireman. The driver handled the driving controls, whereas the fireman was responsible for tending to the fire and ensuring that the appropriate boiler pressure was maintained. [3]
Drivers were only recruited internally from railway staff. A person wishing to become a driver would begin as an engine cleaner, progressing to become a fireman after a few years. As a firemen, they would begin to learn the duties of the driver, and on passing the relevant tests and examinations become a driver themselves. [4]
Diesel and electric traction, which lacked a fire and a boiler requiring constant maintenance, made the job of a fireman obsolete. However, there were still many duties to be performed with diesel and electric traction that the driver could not do by themselves, such as preparation of locomotives, operation of train heating systems, shunting duties, and many others. This role was filled by the secondman.
On the cessation of the use of steam traction, the traditional driver recruitment process was still in place, but with cleaners progressing to become secondmen rather than firemen. [5] Following the introduction of the Traincrew Agreement in 1988, this process was stopped and drivers were instead recruited from across the railways (e.g. guards and station staff) and direct external applications to the role were permitted. [5]
The Traincrew Agreement also re-structured the railways so that secondmen were not required on the vast majority of trains.
Following the Traincrew Agreement, while secondmen were not required as standard, all trains travelling at speeds of over 100mph were required to have a second, fully-qualified driver in the cab. The purpose of the second driver was to provide a lookout for signals and ensure that the main driver had responded to the signals correctly, in absence of other safety systems such as Automatic Train Protection or Train Protection and Warning System. [6] In 1988 the requirement was relaxed slightly to allow services to operate at speeds of up to 110mph with only one driver, and in September 1996 the requirement for double manning was ended entirely. [7]
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With increasing automation of rolling stock, many trains today only require the operation of a single driver, and thus this post has started to disappear. However, it remains in many places, especially on heavy freight, express routes and night trains. Trainee drivers (often known as traction trainees) may also act as secondmen in order to learn routes and operating methods.
Certain railway lines in the UK (for example, the East Suffolk Line) are not approved for driver-only operation. Passenger trains will usually have a driver and a guard, but empty stock movements would require a secondperson (usually a second qualified driver) or a guard to accompany the driver.
On heritage railways, where the older types of locomotives are still in use, the position of second man is still an important role filled by volunteers, and usually part of the training to become a driver.